Vincent -- the lone man
by Yuffie.K
Summary: It's mainly about Vincent, but has a little bit of Yuffie...


The lone man  
  
Atop the lush green hill, a lone man stands. The slight breeze ruffled his long black hair, and scattered birdsongs brought life to the surroundings. Sephiroth had been defeated, and the Planet was safe again. Everybody was busy re-building the city, or had already settled down somewhere. Only the lone man on the hill.  
  
He was a wanderer, a traveler of sorts. The sky was his roof, the earth his bed, the Planet his home. Home is everywhere and nowhere at the same time to him. He was almost like a ghost, drifting where the wind blew. Not one place can keep him long. His scarlet cape added to the image of a mysterious wanderer, his scarlet headband completing the image. Now, he has drifted here.  
  
A raccoon scampered across his path. He scooped it up with his left hand, but it jerked in shock and ran off. His left hand is not a normal human hand, but a metal claw. The claw hath no feelings -- It was icy cold, incapable of warmth and compassion. The man held his claw with his right hand and stared at it for a long long time. It reminded him of many memories, memories that he did not want to remember. Some were sweet, some were bitter; and some were so painful that they would make one would gasp for breath. So many memories, and yet his face betrayed no emotion.  
  
He spent the rest of the day reminiscing what he didn't want to remember. Sweet memories will turn bitter one day, after all. Only those days with AVALANCHE…The birdsongs died out and things quietened down. The sky was filled with soft colors of pink, yellow and blue, and the sun was a glowering orb hovering in the sky, a half-obscured beauty.  
  
Soon, it was dusk. The blood red rays of the setting sun had dipped, then diminished…but the twin flames in the man's eyes continued to glow, to burn, relentlessly. The night has arrived, bringing with it a shroud of fear and mystery. The night was also where the prey and predator play their dark games of hide and seek.  
  
The monster Chaos struggled to be free, to fly unhindered into the night sky. The other two mindless creatures battled along with him, but they lost. The lone man always won. It was will against will, a competition of mental strength. The three creatures were a small part of the lone man, but a part, nevertheless. And every night, the battle had to be waged, leaving the four of them exhausted, but made them stronger too.  
  
Lady moon had replaced the sun, and she spread her gentle rays on the victorious man. He, who bears the sins of all, till his very death. The burden is heavy, he may fall any time.   
  
He, is Vincent Valentine.   
  
"Long time no see, Vampire." A voice called out suddenly from behind him. It was a young voice, a teenage girl's voice. He turned around. She still had her idiotic grin and still uses the irritating nickname. Only she would use it - the others are not so insensitive. However, he sensed something different in the voice this time. If he was not wrong, Yuffie had finally grown up.  
  
Unblinking red orbs met Yuffie's eyes. A slight nod answered her. Vincent was not one prone to making unnecessary speeches.   
  
Vincent had thought that he would never meet another AVALANCHE member again in his life. Yuffie's appearance was a surprise, but it would yet again be another memory in the endless stretch of his life.  
"How long have you been standing there?" Yuffie asked. ~Probably forever~, she thought. Vincent shrugged. ~Sheesh, is it so hard to get this guy to talk?~ She thought. " Ever think of those days in AVALANCHE?" ~Yes, Of course. Your good old materia stealing days, remember?~ Vincent almost said. He shrugged again.  
  
Yuffie groaned in her mind. When she heard that Vincent was here, she just wanted to find a comrade from the days of AVALANCHE. Though she should have expected this. She was never well liked in AVALANCHE, anyway.   
  
"Aren't you tired from standing there so long?" Yuffie asked. She found a nearby tree and sat on the ground there, leaning on the tree. ~Fine, if he wouldn't talk, so I wouldn't.~ She stared resolutely at the sparkling stars in the sky. Wanderlust had drove her away from Wutai once again, and she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. She remembered the AVALANCHE members, and remembered the days with them. She also remembered that Tifa was always the one who stared at the stars. Yuffie dropped her gaze and aimed it instead at the ground.  
  
Vincent stood at the top of the hill, thinking. ~ I shouldn't disappoint Yuffie so.~ He thought. Vincent went over to the tree and sat down next to Yuffie. She was staring at the soil angrily. The full moon shone with full brilliance above them. " Hey, don't you turn into a werewolf tonight?" Yuffie asked, pointing to the sky, but still looking at the ground.  
  
"I'm sorry, Yuffie, okay?" Vincent finally said. ~It's my fault, I shouldn't have mad her angry in the first place. I don't have reason to ask her to stop being so insensitive, I was the one who was so in the first place.~ Vincent thought.  
  
~Hey, amazing! The mute man finally talks!~ Yuffie thought sarcastically. ~Oh well, he apologized……~ "Forgiven." She kept the answer short and sweet. ~Wasn't that what Vincent like? Short and sweet?~ She sighed with exasperation, and lifted her head to watch the moon's journey.  
  
Vincent and Yuffie sat there for the longest time, both maintaining the silence. ~Silence is golden~ Yuffie finally realized. She always had to make idle chatter, irritating everyone who was with her. ~Maybe I shouldn't crap so much.~ For the first time, Yuffie discovered the beauty of the night, other than helping her pass her ninga tests.  
  
By and by, Yuffie accidentally fell asleep. Vincent was once more left 'alone' on the hilltop. His thoughts ~ Life is sweet. No one knows what surprises it may bring, be it an accidental encounter with a friend, the death of my love. I must learn to live my life fully, even after Luceria is gone. I must do so too, after a hundred thousand years, after everybody I know is dead, for only then, am I truly alive.~  
  
  
Yuffie woke to the glow of the morning sun. She was in a room of an Inn, and the expenses have been fully paid by some mysterious guy, as the innkeeper had said. She could bet all her materia it was Vincent. She smiled. Finally, he had found his life.  
  
End  
  
Note: I hope this is not very crappy… R&R, please?  



End file.
